Hufflepuff ~ Chapter 3 ~ A Harry Potter Fanfic

Instructions

ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ʏᴇᴀʀs ʟᴀᴛᴇʀ, ᴘʀᴇsᴇɴᴛ ᴅᴀʏ ~~ Magic could manifest itself in curious ways. For example, Poppy making it to her third year, with her grades, could be considered magic. The new move the Ravenclaw beater pulled off could be considered magic. The way it felt like every single student in the school was obsessed by the Ball on the 21st of December was certainly magic. And the odd impression "Pisum Sativum Renshire IIII" the Devil's Snare was having on Poppy Renshire- well, that was perhaps the most magical thing of all... ~~~ It was at the beginning of Herbology, perhaps a week or so ago, when Professor Sprout was digging through her storage looking for spare earmuffs {A poor fifth year had been sent by Madame Pomfrey to get some mandrake for a potion} when she spotted the seed. It was tiny, unassuming, and innocent. And like any good Botanist- rest assured Professor Sprout was one of the best, either magical or muggle wise- that usually meant it would later grow up to be some bl.oodthirsty plant. Which it would- a Devil's Snare, perhaps one of the more dangerous plants the Professor had dealt with. Grumpy, snappish, dangerous, but only if you gave it the chance to let it be so... the professor chuckled, realizing she had somewhat described one of her students- Poppy Renshire, a third year who more or less either hated or loved Herbology. It was quite hard to say. Pocketing the seed, the Professor went back to check on the class, giving the fifth year {Whose name was Julius} a pair of earmuffs and directing him to the Mandrake section. Everyone was making good progress, well, almost everyone... ~~~ "Renshire, you do realize that you are planting the dittany wrong?!" Poppy looked up sheepishly. One of her signatures looks when caught by a teacher- it usually wouldn't work, because most already knew about her "exploits" and it probably would have been her second offense in that lesson. "First your pot breaks oh so conveniently so you won't have to listen to my lecture, look at where that got you? I swear, I don't understand why..." Poppy listened, with her saddening looks and nods. It was only a matter of time before Sprout would give up and go away- only... ".. I swear, I don't know what I was thinking, giving you that seed would-" "What seed?" Poppy said curiously. Not that she was interested {Plants and boredom made her sneeze, it was a proven fact}. "Renshire, listen!" Sprout snapped. Poppy slumped. "Is it an interesting seed at least?" She piped up, after listening for a record time of five seconds. Sprout was not an easy woman to anger. But it seemed as if Poppy Renshire was especially skilled at that. Without thinking {although the majority of her brain was urging no} she pressed the seed into Poppy's hand. "If you can't identify it by the next Herbology lesson, bring it back to me. Now. Understood?" She snapped. Poppy nodded, examining the seed. "Is it a Pea?' ~~~~~~~~~~ Later that Night, Library. ~~ "Well Poppy, it looks like you've gotten yourself a Devil's Snare" Julius Renshire, who certainly wasn't in the mood for anything- in the past few days, he had gone through basically being pushed off the Astronomy Tower to almost d3ath by Mandrake. But Poppy was his sister {although technically not biologically}, and he felt obliged to help her out. That, and she had bet ten galleons that the seed was a pea. How bad at Herbology could someone get? ~~~~~~~ Apparently very bad, because the first few days, Poppy struggled. It turned out Devil Snare's grew quite quickly, and by the end of the week Poppy had many, many bruises due to "Pea" {Yes, to everyone's surprise she had named the Devil's Snare Pea. Of course.} But by Wednesday, Pomona Sprout was astonished to see Poppy come in, with a small mass of tendrils and vines that in a pink pot. "Her name is Pisum Sativum Renshire the Fourth, and if anyone harms her, I want permission to use Crucio" Poppy declared, in front of her frightened classmates and horrified teacher, as she set down a growling, very real, and very hungry plant.